Tommy Robinson to be freed next week after contempt of court sentence reduced

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James Saunders

By James Saunders


Published: 20/05/2025

- 10:43

Updated: 20/05/2025

- 12:18

Robinson had been told he could leave behind the 'coercive' part of his sentence by 'purging' his contempt

Tommy Robinson is due to be released from prison within the next week after his 18-month contempt of court setence was reduced by four months at the High Court.

Robinson had been jailed for 18 months in October after admitting multiple breaches of a 2021 injunction which barred him from repeating allegations against Jamal Hijazi, a Syrian migrant who successfully sued him for libel.


When he was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court, Justice Johnson said that the jail term would be made up of a 14-month "punitive" element and a four-month "coercive" element.

On Tuesday, he brought an appeal to the High Court to "purge" the latter four months - which was successful.

Tommy Robinson

Robinson had been told he could leave behind the 'coercive' part of his sentence by 'purging' his contempt

PA

"It is open to the defendant to purge his contempt and to seek the remittal of four months of the order, which would result in his earlier release," Johnson had said.

"To do that, he would need to demonstrate a commitment to comply with the injunction."

Robinson's libel against the migrant had emerged in a 2023 film, "Silenced", as well in a series of interviews.

He admitted to 10 breaches of the injunction last year, after the Solicitor General issued two contempt claims against him.

The first claim alleged he breached the order by having "published, caused, authorised or procured" Silenced.

LATEST ON TOMMY ROBINSON:

Court sketch of Tommy Robinson at Woolwich Crown Court

Robinson was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court in October 2024

PA

Part of "purging" his contempt could come by taking down the film, Justice Johnson said.

The second claim was issued in August last year and concerned six further breaches, including playing the film at a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in central London last summer.

Since being jailed, Robinson - currently held at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes - has lost two legal battles related to his imprisonment.

HMP Woodhill

Robinson will soon be released from HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes (file photo)

PA

In March, he lost a bid to bring a legal challenge against the Ministry of Justice over his segregation from other prisoners while behind bars, after his lawyers claimed it had caused an "evident decline in his mental health".

But the Ministry of Justice had argued that he had been segregated because "two other prisoners at HMP Woodhill were plotting to assault the claimant to gain kudos and notoriety".

Robinson "had a 'mark on his head' and would be killed by a lifer if located on a wing", MoJ barristers said.